


Headache

by RandomArtistPerson



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Headaches & Migraines, Nightmares, Post-Manberg-Pogtopia War on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), President Toby Smith | Tubbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:22:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28409937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomArtistPerson/pseuds/RandomArtistPerson
Summary: After the 16th, Tubbo promises his nation peace at any cost. But as time passes and the cabinet becomes more and more power hungry, Tubbo begins to change.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Headache

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I’m new to AO3 and this is my first fic. It’s just a oneshot I made, but I wanted to share it and I really don’t want to dive back into Wattpad, so here I am!  
> Please note, this work involves an intense headache as well as a nightmare sequence with a bit of graphic stuff. It’s nothing too bad, but if headache stuff bothers you don’t read this! I bolded where the nightmare sequence starts and ends, so if you want to skip it you can.  
> I hope you otherwise enjoy reading!!

It starts with a pain in his head. A dull, persistent ache at the sides of his skull that doesn’t go away no matter how many healing potions Tubbo drinks. He brushes it off as a symptom of the stress he’s under. He goes about his job, repairing L’Manburg, working with its citizens, recovering after the horrifying events of the weeks past. The headache persists.

-

Tommy burns down George’s house, Dream demands retribution. Tubbo makes a simple request of Tommy, his Vice President, his _friend_ , and Tommy fails. Dream is angered, obsidian walls grow ever taller around their nation, and Tubbo is put in a position between sacrificing his beloved country for his friend, or exiling Tommy and giving in to Dream’s demands. As the blonde grows more and more erratic, Tubbo’s anger and frustration mounts. The headache gets worse, Tubbo feels like his skull is on fire beneath his skin.

-

Tubbo passes Ghostbur on the street. The spirit stops him, asking if he’s alright. Tubbo brushes him off, telling him it’s just a headache. Ghostbur is silent for a moment, a look of confusion on his transparent face as he stares down at the president.

“What? Have I got something in my teeth?” Tubbo jokingly asks.

“Oh... I’m sure it’s nothing, it’s just your pupils look sort of squarish. Have you noticed?”

He hasn’t. The next time he’s at home, he takes a look in the mirror. Ghostbur was right, his pupils are no longer circular, now taking on an odd squarish, almost rectangular shape. The headache pounds away like a mad horse. He takes the rest of the day off.

People are starting to worry.

-

The cabinet is on its way to meet with Tommy. Today’s the day they will decide whether or not to exile him. Tubbo isn’t ready. As they pass by the blackstone tomb set into the hillside off the Prime Path, Tubbo suddenly stops. He looks around, shaken. The rest of his cabinet slows, turning around to face him.

“You alright there big guy?” Quackity raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah. Just... thought I heard something. Probably just nerves.”

They all shrug it off and keep going. Something itches at the back of Tubbo’s mind, between the splitting pain radiating through his skull. Whatever’s wrong with him seems to be spreading. His ears prickle, and his tailbone aches. He has to ignore it for now, he has a job to do.

-

Tommy turns to face Tubbo one last time as Dream escorts him away.

“Tubbo... you’re my friend!”

Somewhere, deep down, the words wound him. But what’s done is done. It was for the good of L’Manburg. Quackity and Fundy are yelling at him, demanding answers, calling his actions betrayal.

“You’re actually acting like Schlatt right now.” Fundy’s voice breaks as he says it. Tubbo’s vision swims, the throbbing behind his eyes increasing tenfold. The teen balls his fists, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

_Acting like Schlatt..._

The words echo through his mind, tossed up in the whirlwind of pain and adrenaline, digging up bad memories, old scars, blood and ash carried on a sour wind from his L’Manburg, _his_ L’Manburg. It was _HIS_ L’Manburg, and by the Nether he was not about to let these people try to undermine him and take it away.

His nails are digging into the palms of his hands, leaving marks on his clammy flesh. He’s trembling, his eyes wide, rage bubbling up inside of him. He didn’t need them to tell him, their president, how to rule this nation. He could make his own decisions. He knew what was best for this country. He wasn’t about to let two people, who had chosen to work for Schlatt, tell him how he was acting. His eyes are burning, he can barely breathe. He hardly registers the muffled voices of Quackity and Fundy saying his name, asking if he’s alright. A paw touches his shoulder, a flash of orange and black, concerned eyes, eyes of a _TRAITOR_ -

“DON’T touch me.” Tubbo screams out, ripping his arm away from the fox’s grip. Fundy recoils, slightly shocked. The looks on their faces... looks of horror... _reminds him of the day they stood by and watched while he was executed, executed on the command of a man THEY FOLLOWED-_

Tubbo puts a hand to his head, forcing himself to breathe through the waves of pain and nausea radiating through his body. He swallows thickly, his mouth dry.

“I... I think I need some time to myself. We’ll discuss plans for the future later.” The others watch their president as he stumbles his way off the wall and towards his house. They say nothing, only exchanging matching glances of worry before leaving the wall themselves.

-

**Tubbo has nightmares.**

Faces swim before his eyes, fancy uniforms and hats, suits and ties, blue eyes, brown eyes, eyes with rectangular pupils, a laugh that splits through the churning darkness and finds the president tossing and turning in his bed, sweat dripping from his body as an agonizing fever plunges him again and again into a netherscape of destruction and death. Voices, he hears voices, screaming his name, calling for blood, labeling him guilty, _guilty_ , _GUILTY!_ He hears the pop of fireworks, feels the fire burn into his flesh leaving star-shaped scars across his chest, smells his own body burnt and torn. He wakes for a moment, chilled to his bones, gasping for breath, clutching at his sheets trying to anchor himself in reality. There is no light in his room, no soft glow of lanterns or embers in the hearth, only the cold blackness of restless midnight. Tubbo’s ears itch and burn, the base of his spine feels like it’s being stabbed with a sword, and his head, his head feels as if it’s being pounded by a thousand angry ravagers. He tries, he tries to cling to reality, to keep a grip on consciousness, but before he knows it he’s thrown back under into the sea of unrelenting terrors, boiling him alive in his skin. He screams, screams and screams and screams until he cannot tell if the hoarse voice that tears through the chaos is his own or another hallucination of his mind. The night is endless, the dreams an eternity, and through it all Tubbo feels rage, hatred, a greed for power and a lust for revenge. He wants the pain to end, wants to make it end, wants it to just be over, wants to make the ones that inflicted so much damage onto him pay with every last drop of their blood.

Slowly, slowly, the visions fade. The pounding dulls to a throb, to a mild ache, then to nothing. The voices quiet, the colors darken, and Tubbo drifts easily into a velvety blackness that accepts him warmly and holds him in its gentle embrace.  
 **  
For the first time in weeks, the president is at peace.**

-

When he wakes in the morning, Tubbo is surprised to find the near unbearable pain that had been affecting him just yesterday to be gone completely. The headache had disappeared entirely, much to his relief. The president is energized, not an ounce of fatigue or soreness to be found in his young body, only a slight strange feeling in his stomach. He skips about his house, grabbing some food for breakfast, reorganizing his chests and tidying himself up for the day. A jovial smile finds its way onto his face as he prances about, the pale golden light of early morning highlighting his every move through the house. He heads to the bathroom to wash up and change into his presidential outfit, humming an old tune he once heard, something distant but familiar, played on a summer’s eve watching the sunset under the shade of an oak tree. Funny how he can’t quite seem to remember who he was listening with. He shrugs it off, turning his attention toward the mirror as he moves to wash his face. Unfamiliar shapes greet him, and he’s confused for a moment before recognition sets it.

He freezes, the melody silenced in an instant. His smile disappears, his eyes widening as he carefully inspects the reflection staring back at him. Suddenly, he feels very numb as he watches the blood drain from his face. His breath barely leaving his lungs, Tubbo brings up the chat box. Shaky hands type in the letters to send a private message, he taps away as quickly as he can and sends one message, then another, panic gripping his heart as he crumples to the floor and waits.

-

A persistent buzzing finds Quackity delirious, barely awake as he rolls out of bed. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, bringing up the chat to see who could be messaging him this early in the morning.

“Tubbo: big q come to my house please”

“Tubbo: hurry”

“Tubbo: its an emergency please come quickly”

Quackity frowns, wondering what could be so urgent that the president would be calling him over instead of coming to see him directly. The man yawns, stretching as he gets up and pulls on his usual outfit. A bloodied apron sits in the corner, reminding him of things to be done. He smiles softly, imagining the expression on that pig’s face when he finally catches him. Leaving it for now, he brings up the chat again and shoots Tubbo a reply.

“Quackity: Be over in a sec”

Quackity makes his way down the wooden paths of New L’Manburg, passing empty stalls and wanted posters. He shivers, the morning mist sending a chill down his spine. He tries to act casually as he approaches Tubbo’s house, but deep down there’s a worry nagging at him.

It’s been pretty obvious that something was up with Tubbo. After gaining the presidency, he started having these weird headaches that only got worse as time went on. He never talked about them much, but from what Quackity could tell they were getting pretty bad. He shook at the thought of yesterday, how the president had turned on his own cabinet out of nowhere and exiled Tommy, how familiar the look in his eyes was when he snapped at Fundy. What if this ‘emergency’ had something to do with all of that? The newly appointed Vice President closes his eyes, recollecting himself and pushing those thoughts aside. His face slips into a confident smile as he raps on the door.

“Hey Tubbo, it’s me. What’s the emergency?”

A muffled clatter sounds from inside as someone hisses in surprise. A moment later, the hoarse voice of the president calls back.

“Um... one second!!” Another clatter, a crash of something breaking, a shout of surprise. Quackity finds himself frowning once again. That didn’t sound like anything good.

“Tubbo? Everything ok in there?”

No reply.

Quackity forces his heart to stop beating so fast as he tries to remain calm. The fears he had been trying to suppress rise right back up to the forefront of his thoughts, all sorts of red flags going up in his mind. He knocks again, a bit harder this time.

“Tubbo, if you don’t answer the door I’m gonna come in there.”

He hears nothing but a faint whimper in response.

Carefully, he pushes open the door, stepping inside and taking in the sight. The house is in disarray, chests and barrels thrown open haphazardly, brewing stands and potion ingredients strewn about, empty bottles and broken glass littering the floor. Pink and red liquid fizzles against the wood, and Quackity’s heart leaps into his throat. _Why would Tubbo need regen and health potions? Was he hurt? Where was he??_

A soft gasp emanates from the corner and Quackity whips around to see a figure scrambling backwards, mostly obscured by shadow.

“Tubbo?” His voice is barely above a whisper. He takes a cautious step forward.

“STOP! Don’t... don’t come any closer.” The voice is shaky, but definitely Tubbo’s. Quackity obeys and freezes, raising his hands to show he means no harm.

“Tubbo, I’m only here to help. You called me over, remember? You said there was an emergency?” The president lets out a weary breath, seemingly trying to calm himself. Quackity wonders again if he’s hurt and his heart aches. He wants to go over and check on him, but he doesn’t want to cause him any more panic than he’s already in.

“y-yeah... there’s um... i-i seem to have run into a bit of a problem...” Tubbo shifts a bit, still obscured by darkness.

“What’s wrong, Tubbo?”

Another breath, probably accompanied by some tears.

“it’s... it’s really... i don’t... i don’t know how or why or what I _did_ but I- I-“ he chokes on his words.

“Hey, hey. Just breathe for a second, ok big guy? Take a nice deep breath.” Quackity hears him do so. He takes another slow step forward, stopping again as Tubbo starts to scramble back further.

“Tubbo, Tubbo! Listen, listen to me. I’m your friend. Whatever’s going on, I just want to help.” Another step. Tubbo flinches, but otherwise doesn’t move.

“quackity, p-promise me you won’t freak out.”

“I promise. It’s gonna be ok Tubbo.” He smiles reassuringly.

Slowly, Quackity makes his way over to Tubbo. The closer he gets, the clearer he can see the president. He’s got both hands clamped over the sides of his head, and particles from various potions drift off his body. His hair looks almost jagged on the sides, like he got something stuck in it that’s making it stand up more. He can’t see much else, but as he approaches Tubbo inches out of the shadows a bit so the light from the windows illuminates his face.

Quackity is confused at what he’s seeing for a moment. “Tubbo, what’s on your-“ he freezes as the president gradually removes his hands from his head and leaves them at his sides. Quackity does a double take, his eyes widening in disbelief at what’s in front of him.

At first glance, it’s Tubbo, just as Quackity saw him yesterday, albeit his eyes red from a couple tears streaking down his face. But looking at him more closely revealed that some parts had changed. His ears had grown longer and to the sides, now looking more triangular and fuzzy. His pupils were fully rectangular, though the rest of his eyes remained unchanged. But the biggest shocker of all was the dark curled nubs that poked out of his disheveled brown hair, clearly horns that had seemingly sprouted from his skull. Quackity’s heart all but stopped at the uncomfortably familiar silhouette now standing in front of him.

“Big Q...?” The voice was Tubbo’s, but there was something in his expression, some dark hungry thing just barely out of sight that made Quackity question whether or not he was still talking to the same person.

“T... Tubbo... what... what _happened_... why do you have _horns?!_ ”

“I-I don’t know!! I woke up this morning and they were just there. My headache’s gone now too.” He raises an arm to wipe the tears from his face.

“So you just- you just have horns now? And like- goat ears?? What is that about?!”

“I told you, I don’t know! I even have a tail, it’s so bizarre!”

“No way. Actually no way.”

“Yup. See?” Tubbo turns around, and sure enough, a short tail is poking its way out of his pajamas.

“That is seriously messed up dude. Did this really just happen overnight?!”

“Yeah. I was having really bad nightmares, my head was absolutely killing me, and then suddenly it just stopped.”

“Stopped? Like what, just disappeared?”

“Yeah, it just went away out of nowhere. Next thing I know, I’m waking up and my head is fine.”

“Jeez.” Quackity scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to make of this startling new change.

“I feel fine though. Like, I feel completely normal. I actually feel better than I have in weeks.”

“Well, that’s... that’s good I guess. You sure nothing’s changed besides the whole goat thing?”

“Pretty sure it’s a ram, and yeah, I’m sure.” A shiver traveled down Quackity’s spine and he shuddered a little. Something really didn’t seem right about this.

“So wait, if you’re fine then... what’s with all the potions?” He gestures around himself to the bottles and shards and splashes of liquid.

“Oh, I kinda panicked when I first saw the changes. I thought if I drank some healing pots it would undo it or something. It didn’t really work, obviously...” Tubbo looks down at his hands, his brow furrowing. “I’m still really not sure what to think of this.” Quackity steps forward a little bit warily and rests his hands on Tubbo’s shoulders.

“Well, hey. We can figure this out as a team, ok? You’re not the only leader of L’Maburg. I’ll call up Fundy and we can head to the meeting room to sort this out. Sound good?” Tubbo stares at him, and Quackity resists the urge to look away, those rectangular pupils sparking more than one bad memory for him.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan. I’ll go get changed into my suit then.”

“Cool. I’ll meet you outside.”

Quackity backs up and Tubbo nods, turning and heading off into his house. Quackity heads to the door, stepping back out into the brisk air and leaning against the wall behind him, a relieved sigh escaping his lips. His head knocks against the wood as he closes his eyes, a hand resting on his forehead as he starts to process what he’s just witnessed. He gives himself a minute before pulling up the chat box and sending out a message.

“Quackity: fundy, meet me and tubbo at the meeting room in five”

-

Tubbo was feeling confident, a bit more so than usual. He finds it odd, considering the fresh shock he’s in after discovering the new additions to his person. It’s almost like he can’t help it, strength and certainty practically coursing through his veins and dulling the panic he had been feeling earlier. He didn’t know what it was, but he was beginning to like it. He admired his new horns in the mirror with a smile, straightening his tie and smoothing down his suit. He took a deep breath, letting it out in a curt sigh. There was much to be done today, much to improve. With Tommy gone, he hoped he would be able to increase building on New L’Manburg without interruption. He felt like he was on the cusp of something fresh and exciting, and he couldn’t wait to run out and meet it. It was a new era, after all.

A new era of peace.

**This place would be a lot different tomorrow.**

_fin_.

**Author's Note:**

> Original ending: Quackity freaks out and runs away, Tubbo tries to go after him but when he steps outside the citizens of L’Manburg are walking around and see him. They start freaking out at his new appearance, so Tubbo hides inside his house and tries to calm down. Later, he visits Schlatt’s grave and begs him for answers, wanting to know why this is happening to him and what he did to provoke it. He receives nothing but a faint echo of a voice on the wind. He concludes that the changes haven’t changed him, and that his L’Manburg is waiting. He calls a meeting, having some new ideas in his mind that he’d like to propose. The president heads off into his nation, promising a new era for his people.
> 
> Welp, you made it! Thanks for reading this. If you have any suggestions or see a minor spelling or grammatical error that makes your skin itch and you want to correct me, feel free to leave a comment! I’m no English major, and even the best make mistakes sometimes. That’s why feedback is so important, because it fills in the gaps!  
> This is just a oneshot so there probably won’t be any more chapters, but I might make work like this in the future. If you like my work, let me know! If you don’t, please tell me! I’ll be like the mom who keeps buying you that one food you don’t like and you don’t have the heart to tell her you don’t like it, so she just keeps buying it for you. I’ll just keep posting and never know!


End file.
